Massachusetts: What Is Our Favorite College Football Team?
While college football in the Northeast region of the country is certainly popular, it’s been decades since a team has won a national championship (1986 – Penn State). Nonetheless, New England in particular, is filled with great programs. Here, we will look into who is is the favorite college football team in Massachusetts this season?
It’s not who you think. In fact, there are two different ways to approach this subject matter. One of them identifies an in-state team the Bay Staters gravitate towards most. The other looks at the entire landscape of college football, and an SEC school was named the favorite college football team in Massachusetts right now.
Holy Cross
First, CBS Sports took a look at the college football world of each state and selected the most powerful one. They examined key metrics such as their 2022 record and the school’s projected future success. Furthermore, they weighed the importance of the new rules and regulations in NCAA college football today, saying, “now with the introduction of not just the transfer portal but the one-time transfer exemption and the proliferation of name, image and likeness rights.”
The Holy Cross Crusaders came out on top here. They beat out the more obvious choices of Boston College or Harvard University. “The Crusaders went undefeated through the 2022 regular season and lost to eventual champions South Dakota State in the FCS quarterfinals,” CBS Sports explains. It will be an interesting season for Holy Cross. They open up tomorrow at home vs. Merrimack. Then, they head to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College. They finish the month of September at home against Harvard.
Alabama
USA Today‘s recent feature examines the ten most searched-for college football teams to identify the most popular in each state. They analyzed Google trends since 2017 and in the Northeast, each state is aligned with a big-name school from another region.
Massachusetts’ selection using this methodology was the Alabama Crimson Tide. Their only connection to New England is that head coach Nick Saban is good friends with Bill Belichick. Alabama opens their season tomorrow as well against Middle Tennessee State.
It would appear the favorite college football team in Massachusetts has a lot to do with winning. In addition to Holy Cross’ aforementioned recent great run, the Crimson Tide have won five national championships since 2011.
